EDITORIAL -- Leash the Dogs of War

Published
4:00 am PST, Tuesday, February 10, 1998

BEFORE PRESIDENT Clinton unleashes a bombing attack against Iraq, he must persuade the American people and our U.N. allies that every diplomatic means of bringing Saddam Hussein to heel has been exhausted.

So far, he has convinced neither.

As American warships and ground troops assembled in the Middle East, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright vowed that if an attack is made against Iraq, it will be big -- "not pin pricks."

Meanwhile in Iraq, Saddam is recruiting willing civilians to act as human shields, offering them "martyrdom" as a reward for placing themselves around his 70 "palaces," where U.N. inspection teams suspect biological and chemical weapons are being made.

"Let the Americans kill tens of thousands of children and old men; we must die standing up rather than live on our knees," editorialized the Pulse of Youth, a newspaper owned by Saddam's son Udai.

For months now Saddam has been defying U.N. inspection teams, denying them access to so-called "sensitive sites," probably the only places worth checking.

The United States and Britain are threatening to bomb Iraq within weeks to force Saddam to allow unrestricted access. Russia, China, France and the 22-member Arab League oppose using force and are urging restraint and diplomacy.

As much as the civilized world wants Saddam to be slapped down, most U.N. member nations fear bombing him would only consolidate his domestic support.

Eventually, there may be no choice but to resort to military action, but Clinton has not made a persuasive case that we have run out of every option short of war.

It is a pleasing but dangerous illusion to think we can bomb Saddam into submission with surgical air strikes, without killing and maiming many Iraqi civilians.

The president must explain the need and goal of any massive bombing campaign, when most of our former coalition partners in the 1991 Persian Gulf War demand a diplomatic solution. And what's the rush?